Many types of input devices are presently available for performing operations in a computing system, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, touch panels, joysticks, touch screens and the like. Touch screens, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular because of their ease and versatility of operation as well as their declining price. Touch screens can include a touch panel, which can be a clear panel with a touch-sensitive surface. The touch panel can be positioned in front of a display screen so that the touch-sensitive surface covers the viewable area of the display screen. Touch screens can allow a user to make selections and move a cursor by simply touching the display screen via a finger or stylus. In general, the touch screen can recognize the touch and position of the touch on the display screen, and the computing system can interpret the touch and thereafter perform an action based on the touch event.
Touch panels can include an array of touch sensors capable of detecting touch events (the touching of fingers or other objects upon a touch-sensitive surface). Future panels may be able to detect multiple touches (the touching of fingers or other objects upon a touch-sensitive surface at distinct locations at about the same time) and near touches (fingers or other objects within the near-field detection capabilities of their touch sensors), and identify and track their locations. Examples of multi-touch panels are described in Applicant's co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 10/842,862 entitled “Multipoint Touchscreen,” filed on May 6, 2004 and published as U.S. Published Application No. 2006/0097991 on May 11, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Proximity sensors are another type of input device capable of detecting hover events (the no-touch, close proximity hovering of fingers or other objects above a surface but outside the near-field detection capabilities of touch sensors) as well as touch events. Proximity sensors can be employed singly or in a few important locations in a computing system, or can be arranged in panels. Proximity sensor panels may be able to detect multiple instances of hovering referred to herein as multi-hover events (the hovering of fingers or other objects above a surface at distinct locations at about the same time). Examples of a proximity sensor, a proximity sensor panel, a multi-hover panel and a computing system using both a multi-touch panel and proximity sensors are described in Applicant's co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/649,998 entitled “Proximity and Multi-Touch Sensor Detection and Demodulation,” filed on Jan. 3, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
Proximity sensor panels can be employed either alone or in combination with multi-touch panels. In addition, it is noted that some touch sensors, particularly capacitive touch sensors, can detect some hovering or proximity. Proximity sensors, as referred to herein, are understood to be distinct from touch sensors, including touch sensors that have some ability to detect proximity. Multi-touch sensor panels capable of detecting multi-touch events and multi-hover sensor panels capable of detecting multi-hover events may collectively be referred to herein as multi-event sensor panels.
Both touch sensor panels and proximity sensor panels can be formed as an array of rows and columns of sensors. To scan a sensor panel, a stimulus can be applied to one row with all other rows held at DC voltage levels. When a row is stimulated, a modulated output signal can appear on the columns of the sensor panel. The columns can be connected to analog channels (also referred to herein as event detection and demodulation circuits). For every row that is stimulated, each analog channel connected to a column generates an output value representative of an amount of change in the modulated output signal due to a touch or hover event occurring at the sensor located at the intersection of the stimulated row and the connected column. After analog channel output values are obtained for every column in the sensor panel, a new row is stimulated (with all other rows once again held at DC voltage levels), and additional analog channel output values are obtained. When all rows have been stimulated and analog channel output values have been obtained, the sensor panel is said to have been “scanned,” and a complete “image” of touch or hover can be obtained over the entire sensor panel. This image of touch or hover can include an analog channel output value for every pixel (row and column) in the panel, each output value representative of the amount of touch or hover that was detected at that particular location.
The scanning of a sensor panel as described above can be performed under control of a panel processor and a panel subsystem, which can include analog channels for receiving signals from the sensor panel, driver logic for sending signals to the sensor panel, and channel scan logic for controlling the scanning of a sensor panel. The panel processor and panel subsystem can be incorporated into a single application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The circuitry within the ASIC may be configurable so that the same ASIC can be used in a number of different sensor panel configurations and applications.
However, conventional ASICs are often capable of providing more functionality that can be accommodated by their physical I/O pins. ASIC gate counts and densities have improved to the point where packaging and physical I/O limitations can place practical limits on ASIC functionality as opposed to the number of gates required to implement the desired functionality.
Furthermore, because ASICs are expensive to design and build, it is desirable to make ASIC designs configurable so that a single ASIC design can be used in a number of different configurations and applications. However, because configurable ASIC designs may require a group of I/O pins to be uniquely dedicated to each configurable function, the scarcity of I/O pins can be exacerbated.